


Call My Own

by EmilyBea



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-09 02:24:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14707328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmilyBea/pseuds/EmilyBea
Summary: EF AU Captain Swan oneshot. Involves Emma as a princess and Killian as a pirate who have fallen in love and plan to run away to be married. Filled with lots of fluff and part of my CS Mixtape collection on FF and Tumblr.





	Call My Own

**_A/N: This chapter is a very old prompt I have had on my to-write list for over a year, brought to you by the many many Ed Sheeran fans we seem to have in the fandom. ‘Nancy Mulligan’ is not the first Ed Sheeran song I've been asked to take inspiration from, and it will hardly be the last, but this fic also came with an added request. It wanted Emma as a princess and Killian as a pirate in an EF AU where the two of them have to run away to get married since her parents don’t approve. I have twisted that just a little bit, but what has resulted is just a ball of fluff that I think we could all use after saying our final farewell to the show yesterday. Hope you guys enjoy, hope that you are all doing well, and thanks so much for reading!_ **

Captain Killian Jones of the Jolly Roger had never been one for patience. Since an early age he’d known it was a flaw in his personal design. His need to keep going, to keep moving, and to seek instant gratification was more often than not a burden. But never had his patience been tested like it was tonight as he waited with a lantern in the woods just beyond the castle walls.

Getting to this moment had been a long and winding road, one filled with hardship and loss that used to haunt Killian without reprieve. The deaths of his mother and of his elder brother Liam had prompted the worst kinds of pain, even worse than the enslavement he and Liam faced as children. But then a miracle stumbled along his path, a woman – nay, a princess – who with just a simple smile and a ‘how do you do’ turned his world completely upside down. Where once there had only been darkness now there was light again, and the heedless rebellion that had long stirred in Killian’s soul was quieted by the love of a remarkable woman who he was waiting for now.

Princess Emma of Misthaven was a rare gem, a beauty who was incomparable and who was beloved the realm over, but there was more to Emma than mere looks. The wit she had, the sense of self, the unshakeable sense of right in wrong, and the headstrong stubbornness when she felt herself justified all tied together made one perfectly imperfect person who he couldn’t help but adore. She was beyond comprehension and at their first meeting Killian had known just how ill suited they were for each other. He was bloody pirate for Gods’ sake, and she… well she was goodness personified.

It was that goodness that had brought them together so many months ago, but Killian remembered that first meeting like it had only just happened. He could see Emma in his mind’s eye, dressed down from the splendors of royal wear into something more modest and comfortable. She was out and about, having slipped away from the castle and her guards to help care for some children in this small town by the sea, and at first Killian had no idea who she was. To him she was simply the most gorgeous maiden he’d ever cast eyes on, and he’d felt compelled to seek her out even if he knew he shouldn’t.

_“Excuse me, lass,”_ he’d begun, trying to catch up to his actions as he spoke aloud. Truth be told he had no plan, no words that he could say to her, and at first he thought to ask for directions or pretend to be lost, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie, even if it was of small consequence. Instead he lapsed into silence, prompting a smile from this strange, beautiful creature. 

_“I would excuse you,”_ she replied with a fair bit of sass, _“but I don’t know what you’ve done that needs excusing.”_

_“Right – sorry.”_ Killian’s bumbling about was the most mortifying experience, but then it prompted a laugh from his new companion and he couldn’t seem to regret it.

_“Did you need something?”_ she asked, the light of her laughter still twinkling in her eyes and Killian moved forward, wanting to bask in the aura around her. At his movements her gaze shifted from something that was merely friendly and curious to another expression entirely. In her eyes he finally saw an interest that mirrored his own, and that interest seemed to return his instincts to him once more.

_“Just a name, love, so I might know what to call the most beautiful woman the realms over.”_

The words hadn’t in any way been contrived, for he felt them most acutely, but Killian waited a beat, feeling her breath catch and watching a shiver go through her before she shook her head and smiled again, another giggle falling from her lips. She covered her mouth, and Killian wished to take her hand to keep her from shielding her smile, but she did so on her own soon enough.

_“Do lines that usually work for you?”_ she queried, clearly believing him a flatterer instead of a man of any substance.

_“That wasn’t a line,”_ Killian said somewhat defensively. _“You_ are _that beautiful.”_

Now it was her turn to be a little off balance. _“Oh, well, uh thank you.”_

_“So… your name?”_ he asked, stepping just a fraction of an inch closer but putting them in a distance to each other that was hardly proper.

_“You really don’t know?”_ she asked and Killian shook his head.

_“Should I, love?”_ Killian prompted and she looked torn about telling him, glancing back to the children who were still playing about. Then Killian acted on instinct, reaching out to her and turning her cheek back to him. He felt the rush of touching her the first time, the flare of heat as his skin met hers, and he watched as a blush kissed her cheeks, but he pressed on. _“If you don’t give me a name, you know I’ll have to choose my own for you.”_

_“And what would you choose?”_ she asked, her voice a bit breathless as the wind picked up slightly and moved a bit of her golden hair around in the breeze. 

_“Swan,”_ he confessed, watching as her eyes grew wide with curiosity. _“They are the most beautiful of birds, both fierce and brilliant. They’re also stubborn as I recall, and they’ve a will of their own that can’t be denied.”_

_“I’m not stubborn,”_ she protested and Killian grinned.

_“Aren’t you? You won’t even give me your name.”_

_“It’s Emma,"_ she replied. 

_“Killian,”_ he’d offered in turn, taking her hand in his, and just as he was about to push for more the children had returned in full force, bringing with them more than exuberance but another revelation – for none of them referred to her as Emma, instead they all called her ‘Princess’ alerting Killian to the fact that he’d just begun to fall for not just any woman, but the most sought after one in the Enchanted Forest.

In the time since that meeting, however, Killian and Emma had found their way back to each other often. It started slowly and with set expectations. She was a princess, and he was a pirate. There was surely no way they could be together, but when Emma confessed that the feeling of love and that sensation that life could never be as sweet without them together was mutual, Killian began to hope for more. He was determined to be a better man that was more worthy of her, and the inspiration he held close in trying to pursue such a life came from Emma and her abundant love for all the people in the realm, good, bad, and in between.

A slow spike of remorse rose in Killian’s gut at the thought of that love and how their running away together now would jeopardize her future interactions with the kingdom. Emma deserved the life she’d been born to, a life where someday she would rule as Queen and protect the people she’d been safeguarding all her life, but the sad fact was he couldn’t give such a life to her. Her parents, kind and benevolent as stories and legend made them out to be, had been clear on this: their daughter was not to marry a pirate. 

_“I just can’t understand them,”_ Emma had said the night after he’d gone to seek their approval a few days ago, when she’d stolen away from the castle to meet him aboard his ship. There were tears in her eyes, and emotion holding like a vice to her voice that cut Killian down to his soul.

_“Can’t you, love?”_ Killian asked, a bitter attempt at humor etched inside the words. _“I’m a pirate, a rogue, hardly the kind of man suited for a princess, never mind a princess as wonderful as you.”_

_“Stop that,”_ Emma scolded as she looked into his eyes and her hands came to his chest. _“You know that’s not true Killian. You’re so much more than the pirate you imagine. You’re the best man I’ve ever known. I wouldn’t love you as I do if you were any less.”_

_“And I will love you every day of my life, and every day there after, Emma. But sometimes, I suppose, love isn’t enough.”_

The words had tasted like acid on his tongue and the reality that not receiving a blessing from her parents would put a stop to this nearly killed him, but it was Emma who rallied and who put his fears mostly to rest. She pulled him to her for a kiss, one that was forceful and full of feeling, daring him to doubt what existed between them. Then when they pulled away from each other, their foreheads rested together and she spoke a simple truth he would cling to all the rest of his life.

_“Love will_ always _be enough, and a true love like ours always finds a way.”_  

That was what they were doing tonight – finding a way, a way to be together and to tie two hearts who loved so fully together as one. They were going to elope, to marry in secret and then reveal to her parents the truth. From there the Queen and King could make the decision to either accept Killian and Emma or to turn them away. Killian prayed every night for the former, for disownment from her parents would bring Emma a pain he would wish on no one, certainly not the woman he loved.

A rustling of branches not so far off drew Killian’s mind from his wayward thoughts, and he awaited whatever approached, poised for the worst but hoping for the best. When he saw Emma standing there, he hardly knew what to say. She was so beautiful, so utterly breathtaking out here in the moonlight with just the glow of his lantern shining on her that he could barely speak. Underneath a cloak of blue he could see she was wearing white. It wasn’t the kind of gown a princess wore on her wedding day, but it was beautiful, pure, and gave his bride to be an almost fairy-like look he’d remember forever.

“Emma,” he said, her name a single utterance that brought her running forward. She threw herself into his arms, and he tossed the lantern with little care, knowing it was safe, but not truly having a care. All that mattered was holding her, and comforting whatever sadness she was feeling. 

“Oh Killian… I thought I’d die from waiting. But we’re really doing this. We’re really going to be married,” she said and Killian swallowed harshly as he pulled back to look at her, letting her come back softly to her feet.

“That we are, love. As soon as you tell me that this is what you want we’ll go. I’ve everything ready, but I need you to tell me one last time.” 

“The only thing I’ll ever truly need is you by my side,” Emma murmured as her hand grazed his cheek, her fingertips brushing at the spot where beard met flesh as she tried her hand at a bit of teasing to lighten the mood. “You still love me, don’t you, Captain?”

“More than anything the realms over. And you know I’d give you the whole world if I could, Emma, but in the life I can offer you, there are no palaces or castle. No crowns, and no kingdoms. There’s just my ship, the sea, and a heart so full of love for you I can promise it will never fade away.”

  
“It sounds perfect,” she assured him with a whisper. “As long as I’m your wife and you’re my husband, as long as we walk through life together, make a family together, and grow old together, as long as you keep your promise and love me every day, then that will be enough.”

“You have my word, Emma. If those are your dreams, I will see to it that every last one of them comes true.”

_“And we’ll see to the rest,”_ a voice said from just beyond the tree line. Emma and Killian turned and discovered that despite their beliefs they were not alone, for there, standing before them were the King and Queen. “Won’t we Charming?” 

The question from Queen Snow came charged with emotion, her wide eyes glistening with tears as she held her husband’s hand. Emma’s father, meanwhile, was not so stricken with emotion, but his focus lingered on his daughter before turning to Killian. This time the look Killian received was very different from the last. There was still the feeling that Killian would never be good enough for Emma (a fact to which Killian would readily agree), but the harshness and disdain was gone. Instead it was replaced with understanding and a new sort of respect. It was a look that gave Killian hope, as he stood there with Emma still in his arms.

“Mom? Dad?” Emma asked, pulling back as she kept Killian’s hand in hers. “If you came here to stop me -,” 

“We didn’t,” her father promised. “We came to make things right.”

“We should never have stood in the way of true love, Emma,” her mother said thoughtfully, stepping forward to cross the space between them until her hand came to rest on Emma’s arm. “And it’s clear from your actions and your words that you two do love each other. You’re old enough to know your own heart, and if you want him so much that you would run away to be married, he must be truly worthy man.” 

“He is,” Emma said with a smile before looking back at Killian and whispering, “You are.”

“Right then,” Emma’s father said briskly, stepping forward to shake Killian’s hand. “Please accept our apologies, Captain. But also remember that if you hurt her there’s not a place in any world you could go where I wouldn’t find you.”

“Dad!” Emma yelled at the same time that her mother scolded, “Charming!” but then Emma and Queen Snow laughed together.

“There’s nothing to forgive, Your Highnesses. And believe me, if I were ever to cause any harm to Emma, I would not run. I’d willingly surrender to whatever punishment you deemed fit. It could be no worse than the pain I’d feel at having inflicted any suffering on my swan.”

“Swan?” Queen Snow asked and Emma shook her head.

“A story for another time. Right now we have to go, we’re late.”

“Late?” the King asked. “But Emma, now that we’ve settled things surely you can come home. Killian will come too and we’ll plan a wedding befitting a princess. There’s no need to run anymore.” 

“You two can still plan the party of your dreams. If you want we’ll even stand up in front of the whole kingdom and say our vows all over again,” Emma said looking to Killian for agreement as he gave a nod, perfectly happy to do anything she wanted. “But I’m not waking up another morning not married to the man I love. I can’t wait anymore. I won’t.”

“I see,” her father said with an even tone as her mother looked shocked. Then he surprised them all with a response no one saw coming. “Well I can’t say I’ve ever been on a pirate ship before, but there’s a first time for everything as they say.”

“You’re kidding,” Emma said with rush of air and then a giggle when she realized he wasn’t. “You’re serious?! You’ll both come?”

Her parents agreed that they would, and Killian could feel the happiness Emma carried in her heart because of it. They made their way to the ship, and despite the slight awkwardness of introducing the few crew members he’d kept for the night to not only his bride to be but her royal parents, things went smoothly from there. The chapel was found, the ceremony presided over, and the love that was bound together grew only stronger as they promised to have and to hold each other all the days of their lives. Killian knew the rush and the thrill that could only come from the woman he cherished taking his name as hers, and he felt his heart open all the more at promising Emma eternity. It would never be enough, but it was a start, a start he was more than excited to undertake.

As the early morning light began to rise above the world, Killian and Emma stood at the side of the Jolly Roger, watching the sun make it’s way through the heavens, bringing warmth and illumination as it did. Her parents had decided to retire to a cabin for this last short leg of the trip, but Killian suspected it was more to give them privacy than because of any real need for rest. He appreciated it too, for the only thing that could sate the need to claim his bride in this moment was holding her in his arms, watching the early morning sun cast golden hints through her hair and light up her jade colored eyes. In this moment Emma looked blissfully happy, and then she turned to him and smiled, taking his breath away.

“Promise me this really happened,” she said, her hand coming to rest above his chest, right where his heart lay beating. “Promise me it’s real, and that I won’t wake up from some perfect dream any minute now.” 

Killian brought her hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss before returning her smile. Then he ran his fingertips against her cheek, gazing in her eyes and seeing the next sixty-odd years they’d spend together. There was a beautiful life to be led, a life filled with far more joy than sorrow, with hopes and dreams, with love and faith, and he found himself also grappling with the worry that somehow this was all a grand illusion. Then he grounded himself in Emma, the realest thing he’d ever known, and he took comfort in the fact that he couldn’t imagine such a treasure or such a blessing as her.

“This is real, my love. As real as real can be.”

“Good,” Emma replied before kissing him, teasing him with the taste of passion he knew lurked just beneath the surface. The kiss burned hotter, edging onto something that couldn’t be excused, especially when her parents were just below decks, but at the last minute Emma pulled back, grinning mirthfully at him before supplying one last thought. “And don’t worry – we can still run away together.”

“Come again?” the confusion that must have been etched on his face made her laugh, soothing his disorientation as he awaited her reply.

“Not forever,” Emma said with conviction. “Just for a little while. I think three weeks will be long enough for a decent honeymoon, don’t you?”

“Aye, my swan. As you wish.”

And with that agreement between them, Killian and Emma settled into the happily ever after they’d been fighting so hard for, finding it just as wonderful and magical as fairytales and happy stories made them out to be.

…………..

_I was twenty-four years old_

_When I met the woman I would call my own_

_Twenty-two grand kids now growing old_

_In that house that your brother bought ya_

_On the summer day when I proposed_

_I made that wedding ring from dentist gold_

_And I asked her father, but her daddy said, "No_

_You can't marry my daughter"_

_She and I went on the run_

_Don't care about religion_

_I'm gonna marry the woman I love_

_Down by the Wexford border_

_She was Nancy Mulligan_

_And I was William Sheeran_

_She took my name and then we were one_

_Down by the Wexford border_

_Well, met her at Guy's in the second world war_

_And she was working on a soldier's ward_

_Never had I seen such beauty before_

_The moment that I saw her_

_Nancy was my yellow rose_

_And we got married wearing borrowed clothes_

_We got eight children now growing old_

_Five sons and three daughters_

_She and I went on the run_

_Don't care about religion_

_I'm gonna marry the woman I love_

_Down by the Wexford border_

_She was Nancy Mulligan_

_And I was William Sheeran_

_She took my name and then we were one_

_Down by the Wexford border_

_From her snow white streak in her jet black hair_

_Over sixty years I've been loving her_

_Now we're sat by the fire in our old armchairs_

_You know Nancy, I adore ya_

_From a farm boy born near Belfast town_

_I never worried about the king and crown_

_'Cause I found my heart upon the southern ground_

_There's no difference, I assure ya_

_She and I went on the run_

_Don't care about religion_

_I'm gonna marry the woman I love_

_Down by the Wexford border_

_She was Nancy Mulligan_

_And I was William Sheeran_

_She took my name and then we were one_

_Down by the Wexford border_

**_Post-Note: I always love a good EF AU, and writing this little oneshot was no different. It offered all the same chance for fluff and feel-good moments, and I hope that you guys all enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing. Thank you to my reader who suggested this song and this story idea, and to all of you who have shared other ideas with me. More to come in the weeks ahead, and until then I hope you all have a lovely rest of your weekend!!_ **


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